May 23, 2023
There are times when riding a bicycle that the world comes together into perfect harmony with my mind and body. A time when beauty and perfection are all around and I am one with it. Today was such a day. An easy climb took us to a long curving downhill glide along a mountain stream slipping through a dense Japanese Cypress forest. The sound of water splashing swiftly down rocky beds and the breezes speaking their soft murmurings through the branches formed the symphony in my mind. As I negotiated hairpin switchbacks with the wind in my face and nary an effort by my legs, my mind was open to all that my senses could absorb. Kilometer after nearly endless kilometers I rolled on in a rapture with this beautiful environment of fairy waterfalls and rugged streams that carved this magnificent route around and down the mountainside. Every turn a new vista, every curve seemed to bring even greater beauty. Just when it seemed like it would end, I would round a fairly flat bend only to have the road pitch downward into yet another long winding descent. It went on and on and I could tell that this moment was something special; something rare and something to be treasured forever. Today I touched the soul of the world.
